High-energy electromagnetic radiation in the form of x-rays is used in many areas today. Although the use of x-rays in medical imaging is the most familiar setting to most people, other uses abound as well. For example, x-rays may be used in a medical setting for purposes of activation, such as of a medication or substance, rather than for imaging. Moreover, many uses of x-ray radiation in ground and geological exploration are known, such as in connection with oil exploration or subsurface imaging. One effective use of x-ray radiation is in the treatment of substances to reduce the impact of biological and other contamination. For example, food can be irradiated to kill microorganisms, making the food safer to consume. Waste water or runoff may be irradiated in the same manner to reduce the effects of contamination.
However, as useful as x-rays are in some of these capacities, the efficiency with which that radiation is produced and directed is suboptimal at present. Typical x-ray sources comprise a point source electron producer, an accelerator, and a metal target. In operation, the electrons generated by the point source are accelerated through the accelerator, and impact the metal target. Upon impact of the high-energy electrons with the target, x-ray radiation is emitted.
Typically the emitted radiation spreads in a conical pattern beyond the region of impact depending upon the composition and configuration of the target, the energy and dispersal of the impinging electrons, etc. Given this divergent radiation pattern, it can be seen that the radiation dose at a given distance r from the region of impact falls off in approximately an inverse squared (1/r2) manner. To effectively employ this radiation pattern at proper doses, a strong radiation field, accounting for the fall off with distance, must be generated, and the object of interest must be positioned properly in the radiation cone. Although some radiation sources use multiple point sources, or one or more mobile point sources, to make up for the suboptimal emission pattern, such systems have their own inherent drawbacks and complexities. In particular, complications involving source timing, positioning, etc. are commonplace.
In the treating of materials for decontamination or sanitation purposes in particular, it is important to be able to deliver a uniform and sufficiently strong radiation pattern so as to avoid overly degrading the target material while ensuring adequate radiation to reduce the impact of microorganisms (or larger organisms) and contaminants. Moreover, it is important for commercialization that the x-ray source has adequate power efficiency to reduce the costs of use. Present systems fall short in one or more of these areas. Accordingly, there is a need for an x-ray treatment system that improves over the prior art systems at least in terms of efficiency and uniformity of field.